Mo-doped ZnO(MZO) films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by radio frequency sputtering at different substrate temperatures of 200, 300 and 400 degrees C. The effect of the substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties of the MZO films has been investigated. X-ray diffraction results reveal that all the films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferential orientation according to the direction (0 0 2) plane. The crystallinity and surface morphologies of the films are strongly dependent on the growth temperature, which in turn exerts a great effect on microstructural and optical properties of the MZO films. The optical absorption measurements show high ultraviolet (UV) absorbance property of MZO with sharp and intense absorption band in this region and the optical band gap (E-g) are 3.18, 3.22, 3.25 and 3.21 eV for the films deposited at room temperature, 200,300 and 400 degrees C. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of a strong broad violet-blue emission from MZO nanostructures with increasing deposited temperature was also observed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was employed to investigate the surface chemical composition of growth products. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All tights reserved.